Clasp.



PATENTED FEB. 25, 1908.

M. D. ARNOW.

CLASP. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 21, 1907.

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UNITED s'r 'rEs PATENT onrron A To all/whom it may concern."

-' MORRIS D. ARNOW, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

CLASP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 25,1908.

Application filed February 21. 1907- Serial No. 358.644.

Beit known that I, Monnis D. ARNOW, of Boston, in the county of Sufiolkand State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Clasps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a fastening device for boots, shoes,overshoes, gaiters, gloves and the'like, which may be generally embracedunder the term foot and hand' coverings, and has for its object toenable such articles of wear to be quickly fastened, and to be readilyadjusted soas exactly to fit the wearer in all parts. Accordingly I formthe clasp with interengaging members, one of which has a series of teethwith which the other engages, and arranged so that they may be connectedin a wide range'of different positions so as exactly to fit'the hand orfoot of the wearer, and to take up looseness dueto stretching after longuse.

Of the accompanylng drawings',Figure 1 represents a perspective view ofthe. upper part of a shoe having my improved clasn applied thereto. Fig.2 represents a fragmentary front elevation of part of the shoe,

with one of my clasps thereon. Fig. 3 represents a fragmentary section,showing the manner of securing one of the members of the clasp. Figs. 4and 5 represent plan and sec tional views ofthe clasp as applied to ashoe.

' Figs. 6 and 7 represent perspective views of the members of the claspwhen separated from each other. Fig. 8 represents an end view of thesocket member of the clasp. Fig. 9 represents a plan of the blank fromwhich the socket member is formed. Fig. 10 represents the device asapplied to a glove. Figs. 11 and 12 represent different arrangements forattaching the clasp to a shoe. Fig. 13 represents a sectional view ofthe socket member showing a modification in construction.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all thefigures.

The clasp or fastening consists of a socket member at having bottom,side and top walls and open at one end to receive a tongue member b. Inthe upper or outer wall of the socket member are locking shoulders orteeth 0,

referably made integral by corrugating the lank from which the socket isformed, and these shoulders or teeth are arranged for engagement with anintegral spring latch d on the tongue member. The latter is made ofsheet metal and between the ends is cut so as shown in Figs. 6 and 8.

to separate three sides of the latch d, leaving the fourth sideconnected. The latch is bent up so as to lie oblique to the tonguemember and to slant outward and rearward from the front end thereof.Thus when the tongue member is inserted into the socket, the latch isdepressed by the locking shoultudinal slot e through which project aknob or projection f on the latch d, and a pin g on the forward end ofthe tongue member. The projection f serves to depress the latch out ofengagement with the teeth so that the tongue can be Withdrawn, while thepin 9 is provided for drawing the tongue inward into the socket. I

As-shown in Fig. 9, the socket member is made from a flat blank h ofsheet metal. each end of the blank are left one or more prongs i whichare pointed so as to be inserted through the material of the part towhich they are fastened, and the opposite sides are corrugated bypressure so as to make the teeth 0. The sides are then bent upward onthe dotted lines j, and inward toward each other on the lines 70.Adjacent the rear end of the socket the side edges Z extend outwardlysufficiently far to butt together when the socket is shaped, but theedges outside of the teeth are slightly out out so as-to leave the slot6. At the rear end of the blank are one or more tongues m which bendinward between the inner and outer walls so as to close the end of thesocket as The prongs i are bent downward into parallelism and insertedthrough the material of the hand or foot covering, being then bent backand clenched,

as shown in Fig. 5, to secure the socket.

The tongue member has an extension n on the sides of which are lips orflanges 0 which are adapted to be closed down on short strap members orlugs 10 on the articles to which they are attached. These lips or flanes are pressed down tightly and may be acte upon by a machine which cutsand forces spurs from the metal into the leather of the shoe,

etc., at the same time that the lips are being clamped. Preferably thebody of the tongue I) and the extension a are made in separate parts,although they may also be integral, and are pivotally connected by aprojection g on the part at which passes through a slot 7 in the rear ofthe tongue body, and is doubled back over the edge thereof. This makes asort of pivotal connection, *givingflexibility to the tongue member.-The tongue members are attached to lugs 12 as before described, andthese latter may be formed integrally with the upper of the shoe bycutting awa the latter adjacent the edge, asshown in igs. 1, 2, 3 and11, or the lugs may be formed .uponrarstrip aseparatelysewedato@theoutside :of the up er adjacent and parallel with the edge it ereof. Inapplying ithe fastening to gloves, one or imore tabs 25 of leather .zare:sewed eat one .end xto ithe sglove, and the other end is clamped by the'lips o of the tongue member, as described.

.It will bBillIldHlSllOOd that Figs. '4 to '9 inclusive show the clasponza greatlyaenlarged scale, for the purpose of clear illustration.Actually theadevice :will be :mad'edof approximately the same size as"the illustration Fin Fig. 1. The length of ith'e parts will fibervaried according to ".the "use for "which ill] :is designed, and ithenumber :01 -teeth andspacing between them will @be likewise 'varied. Intarry event, :there will be :a wide :range of positions in which athe:members of ithe .c'lasp may be secured. Thereby a foot -.or :handcovering of a p articular SlZG is :adaptedi'to be secured :abou't ankles=.or Wrists of greatly varying circumference, and in the case of :a footcovering, the several parts may be drawn together with iexactly zthe'zri'ght ten: sion ltO' fit comfortably about diflerent vparts of theankle. thel leather or other material becomes stre'tched :after use, thetongue .may be pushedainward lby T-tllGtSPEQB oflaifew iteeth so .as toTtake 21 p \theslack rand maintaimaisungifit.

:It is to be understood that the docking shoulders .or teeth :are notnecessarily made by :iorming integral iofisets, but ithat zthey may beequally well .formed iiby :cutting out 1 tongues or spurs, and :forcingthem :iinward a slight distance below 'ith'e upper. surface ofthesocket. ISu1ch a form isishownlat Fig. 1.3.

I claim 1. .Aclaspforiioot: and hand .coverings, consisting of socketand tongue 'mem bers fastenedrespectiyelytozadjacent:separablezparts ofthe covering, the :socket member eing open :at one :end :to receive theend io'f the tongue member andhaving internaliteethflnd the tonguemember 'having an integrallresilient latch inclined away'from the freeend of the tongue, adapted to slip over the teeth when t'he-tongue 1s:ushed into the socket and to .engage behind t e teeth.

2. A clasp consisting of a socket member having aplurality of spacedshoulders inclined inwardly toward the interior of the--saiclrnemiber,andla tongue member adapted to enter said socket member and carrying anoutwardly inclined integral spring latch to-=slip past rthe shoulderswhen inserted into @the :socket and to on age behind the shoulders andprevent'with rawal ofthe tongue.

3. A, .cl'asp consisting of a :socket member having internallyiprojecting lockin shoulders or teethan'daslot, a-sheet+meta itongueprovided 'with .an inte rally united zla'tch struckup-from the metathereofibetween i'ts .ends, wherebyxsaid latch maybeentirelylretractedwithinathebodyof the tongue,-:atlapt edito .enter'the socket and interlock with *the shoulders, andlaiproj ection on thetongue extending ithrough theslot of the socket when the members-aretogether, 'to be ienga 'ed manually for drawing the tongue :a furtherdistanoe into athel socket.

4. A io'lasp for securing separable parts 40f foot or hand coveringscomprising :a socket member having locking teet'h and prongs'fforattachment to one of the parts, eand atongue member having lipsorflanges to b'e clamped about a dug-on the otherpart, said =ton ue memberbeing adapted :to :enter the .SOO et 'meniber andzc'arrying aspringlatch forautomatic engagement with ithe teeth thereof :asthetonguemembris inserted-into the: socket.

5. A .cla-s comprising :socket and tongue members :a apted to be engagedtelescopicall-y, the fprmerhaving:aipluralityof locking shoulders orteeth and the latter a spring latchtolengagebehind said :teeth, and:aafasteningdeviceifortheitongue memberIhaving-:aprojectionzpassedithrough a slotiintheitongue member and doubled backfor pivotal *umon therewith, zandfhaving flanges or. lipsaadapted to beclamped about a :portion K of :the r article to Which'it is applied.

In testimony "whereof I have liaflixed my signature inipresence of twowitnesses.

MORRIS D. ARNOW.

Witnesses ARTHUR BROWN, A. G. RATIGAN

